Monthly Archives: May 2017

JOWA AG Pasta has been the largest manufacturer of pasta products in Switzerland since it was founded in 1931. It is important for the company that its production operations run smoothly and meet strict quality standards.

Precision temperature and humidity probes from Rotronic are used to measure the climates in the factory’s six production lines, which predominantly manufacture dried pasta for the retailers such as Migros (Switzerland’s largest retailer). As a testament to the quality of Rotronic probes some units are over 15 years old and are still performing as required having only undergone routine calibration and adjustment to ensure that they provide consistently accurate accurate data.

JOWA AG manufactures 18,000 tonnes of pasta per year and is thus the largest pasta producer in Switzerland!

The pasta market is highly competitive and food legislation strict. It is therefore all the more important that the pasta is produced in the finest quality without production stoppages and rejects. The drying process plays a key role in the production of dried pasta and is therefore accorded top priority at JOWA. In order to control the climates optimally, temperature and humidity probes from Rotronic are used in the production lines. To preserve the food for a long shelf life and prevent mould and negative microbiological processes, the pasta is dried to a very specific level. Over drying wastes time, energy and produces a poorer quality product, under drying reduces shelf life and risks spoilage. Humidity and temperatures therefore need to be monitored closely during production. Legislation in Switzerland states that pasta products may not contain more than 13 percent water.

High Demands on Probe Accuracy

JOWA has been manufacturing pasta at its site in Buchs AG since 1963. The requirements of food standards, law and customers are rising continuously.

“Every single production step needs to be traceable in ever more detail, down to each single packet of spaghetti. The temperature and humidity of each production step must be recorded exactly.”

If unwanted temperature and humidity variations were to occur in the pasta, this could lead to quality defects such as crumbling. The pasta would then dry irregularly and break during cooking. For this reason a sample is taken of every product from the first three and last three pallets for quality assessment. The heads of the different departments evaluate the products daily according to various specified properties such as taste and appearance.

Oliver Höfler explains: “If we have to recall products from various stores, this means an enormous financial loss of several ten thousand francs and also a severe blow to the image of our products. A dissatisfied customer – that is something we cannot afford. For this reason it is essential that we are able to rely on the measuring accuracy of the Rotronic probes to 100 percent.”

In addition to this, samples need to be taken for analysis from ongoing production every four hours. “ We greatly appreciated the open and transparent collaboration with Rotronic.” Oliver Höfler, JOWA AG, Switzerland Migros dried pasta perfectly monitored. Rotronic I200 sensor, providing reliable service for more than 15 years.

Project Workflow: Good and Long-Term Planning

Planning calibration time is the key to success with humidity instruments. JOWA AG in Buchs stops production twice a year, two weeks in winter and two weeks in summer, in order to check all equipment and machinery and so maintain the high quality standards. Andreas Zülle, head of production, ensured that the 50 probes (both the I200 transmitters dating back to at least the year 2000 and the newer HygroFlex5 generation) were disconnected right at the start of the last inspection so that Marko Schulze, Rotronic’s qualification technician on site, could begin calibrating the measuring devices. All probes were also catalogued. Marko Schulze: “JOWA’s planning was ideal, I was able to check all probes and either get them back into shape or replace them, and then we still had enough time to test the newly adjusted probes.”

Smooth implementation of the inspection and calibration procedure was important to Andreas Zülle: “After the calibration, our process specialists were able to start up the production lines again without problem.” Oliver Höfler adds: “We greatly appreciated the open and transparent collaboration with Rotronic, found Marko Schulze to be an extremely competent partner and are sure we will be able to carry out calibration of our instruments even more efficiently next time. They have now been catalogued in detail. On top of that, we can also check the probes during operation with the Hygropalm from Rotronic.” Both sides benefit from good planning and a good working relationship.

Some Interesting Facts about Jowa

JOWA Pasta has been producing dried pasta for more than 50 years

The durum wheat semolina needed for production comes from a mill in Wildegg that also belongs to JOWA.

A team of 46, working three shifts a day, ensure daily that high-quality raw materials are transformed into products at an optimum price-performance ratio .

JOWA employs a workforce of around 3,200 people and, with more than 140 apprentices and trainees, is the biggest training company in the Swiss bakery industry.

JOWA AG is the leading Swiss bakery and supplies its customers from the retail trade, convenience stores and food service sector daily with a wide range of products and individual service concepts.

Uncomfortable situations like this need not arise. CO2 displays by Rotronic make it easy to measure air quality, and the results can be used to initiate the appropriate measures. In an enclosed room, some 25 to 35 cubic metres of fresh air per person per hour are needed, given normal activities. This ensures that the carbon dioxide (CO2 ) content remains below 1,000ppm (ppm = parts per million [value of the proportion of carbon dioxide in the air]), and that the volatile substances exuded by humans are extracted to a sufficient degree. By comparison, the CO2 concentration in outdoor air is around 400ppm. The CO2 concentration is a good indication of the quality of the air in a room. The consumption of air rises particularly quickly in meetings, with many people in small rooms. By the time we notice this productivity has already declined. A CO2 sensor is the answer here. Alfred Freitag, Sales Manager for Switzerland at Belimo Automation AG, points out that a meeting should be interrupted when the CO2 concentration reaches 1,200 ppm and the room should be ventilated. The CO2 content in the air then drops rapidly, and productivity increases again.

The right to good air

Every person has a right to healthy indoor air (WHO). In the case of workplaces, the labour laws require that air quality and room climate must not represent a health hazard for employees. In the private sector, there are no regulations, and the owner is responsible. However, the Swiss Cantonal building regulations require energy-efficient buildings. This requirement can be met only when the buildings are airtight. Consequently, free exchange of air is no longer possible. Martin Bänninger, director of the SVLW (Swiss association for air and water hygiene), has this to say: “Most Cantonal building laws, or municipal building regulations, state the principle that a building must not endanger life or health of the building‘s users.” Furthermore, buildings must be erected according to the rules of the building trade, as laid down in the standards, directives and bulletins (SIA, SWKI).

Careful planning of ventilation systems

Today, however, an adequate supply of fresh air cannot be taken for granted. In densely built-up housing areas, normal ventilation through the windows is of limited value. A good room climate cannot be achieved by regular airing in all buildings – climate-regulating systems are a necessity. Building owners and ventilation planners should therefore conform to the specifications in the SWKI Directives – “Hygiene requirements for room air systems and devices” – starting with the positioning of the air intake, through the controls of the ventilation and heating systems to the instruction of the occupiers. In the case of more complex systems, the responsibilities for surveillance and maintenance must also be clearly defined. “The maintenance of the system should have high priority,” Alfred Freitag emphasises. To keep the ventilation systems functioning reliably, and to keep them hygienic, they must be carefully planned, constructed, regulated and maintained. Rotronic CO2 displays can then be used to monitor these ventilation systems, the data being read out via USB stick when necessary. Asked why Belimo decided in favour of the Rotronic CO2 displays, Alfred Freitag says, “We were very competently advised by Rotronic CEO Michael Taraba. He took care of our needs personally. In addition, the visualisation of the measured data was very important to us. They are simple and clear to read on the Rotronic display. Hitherto, Rotronic has proved a very reliable partner.” In addition, the Rotronic display permits global assessment of the air. It measures CO2 , humidity and temperature. This allows suitable countermeasures to be taken.

Product Snap Shot – CO2 Display

The wall-mounted or bench-top CO2 display is an inexpensive display unit that simultaneously measures and records CO2 , humidity and temperature. Equipped with the field-tested and proven ROTRONIC HYGROMER® IN-1 humidity sensor, this instrument offers unbeatable value for money. The instrument can be configured directly with buttons, and stored data can be exported to a USB stick for analysis with the free Rotronic software package SW21.